Various technical and organizational measures to improve energy and resource efficiency have been developed but studies still identify an efficiency gap when it comes to implementation. Thereby, two main perspectives need to be considered: the machine tool builder has a major role as the energy demand in operation is mainly determined in the design phase. On the other hand, the machine tool user focuses on the individual reduction of energy and resource demand and connected costs as well as environmental impact. Against this background, this paper presents a framework which brings together both machine tool builder and operator perspective which is underlined by two case studies.